Roll paper holder and dispenser



Oct. 17, 1961 D. c. JOHNSON ROLL PAPER HOLDER AND DISPENSER Filed April 24. 1959 INVENTOR.

04; C J'o/l/vso/v 4 TWP/VF VS 3,004,693 ROLL PAPER HOLDER AND DISPENSER Dale C. Johnson, Lorane Rte, Box 606, Cottage Grove, Oreg. Filed Apr. 24, 1959, der. No. 808,831 3 Claims. (Cl. 225--77) This invention relates to an improved rollerless holder and dispenser for roll paper.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a simpler, more efiicient, and more conveniently usable device of the kind indicated, suitable for holding and dispensing toilet paper, paper towels, and other perforated roll material, which has simple means providing continual gravitational and frictional retention and positioning of a roll therein despite the decreases in diameter of the roll as paper is dispensed therefrom, and despite the vertical displacements of a roll and the rotation thereof which are incidental to the dispensing of paper therefrom, from the underside of a roll, the said means also serving to prevent vagrant and over-rotation of the roll, as paper is pulled therefrom, and thereby eliminate excessive dispensing of paper and dangling lengths of paper, and the waste of paper incidental thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide retaining and positioning means in a device of the character indicated above, which are constituted by formations of the walls of the device, rather than by additions of retaining and positioning components, to the casing of the device, and wherein pulling of paper from the roll serves to elevate the roll out of maximum frictional engagement with said means, whereby rotation of the roll in the casing and dispensing of paper therefrom is eased and facilitated and premature and inaccurate tearing off of the paper is eliminated or reduced.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a device of the character indicated above, paper tearing means which includes a tearing edge remote from the roll, and a support substantially tangential to the underside of the roll which together serve to facilitate accurate and free tearing of the paper and to provide a sufficient length of paper lying upon the support, after a tearing operation, to provide a readily grasped tab for the next pulling and tearing operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character indicated above which, because of the absence of moving parts, is quieter in operation and longer lasting, and which can be made of a variety of suitable materials, such as metal or plastic, in one-piece, and which can be more easily and completely cleaned.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein, for purposes of illustration only, a specific form of the invention is set forth in detail.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective View, showing a device of the invention inset into a wall, a roll of paper therein being indicated in phantom lines;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2, showing the contour of the paper-tearing and supporting lip, and the relation of paper thereto.

Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the illustrated device, generally designated it), is of the flush, inset type, and is shown as being inset through an opening 12 in a wall 14 and extending therebehind. However, it

3,004,693 Patented Oct. 17, 1951 will be understood that the invention contemplates other mountings of the device.

The device lib comprises a preferably one-piece casing 16, similar parallel spaced vertical side walls 18 which are spaced from each other at a distance only slightly greater than the length of a paper roll 26 such as a toilet paper roll. The side walls 18 have straight perpendicular outer or forward edges 22, on which are fixed related parts of a flat rectangular flush mounting frame or iiange 24, which extends around the device, and which bears against the exposed side of the wall 14. Suitable anchoring means, such as mastic, is wedged between the edges of the wall opening 12 and related sides of the casing 16, as indicated at 2'6, 28 and 39, for holding the device in place.

The casing 16 further comprises a rearwardly and downwardly, and substantially uniformly curved combined top and rear wall 32, extended between and secured to the side walls 1 8, whose radius of curvature is substantially greater than that of a full paper roll 20. The combined wall 3-2 terminates at its lower endin a downwardly and forwardly curved portion 34 having a somewhat smaller radius of curvature than the wall 32, and which reaches to a level below that of the bottom edge 36 of the wall opening 12, as shown in FIGURE 2, and so as to provide approximately the rear half of a V-shaped bot-tom wall 38. The portion 34 merges at its lower end in a forwardly and upwardly curved midportion 40 which in turn merges into a relatively flat, uncurved, and forwardly inclined ramp portion 4-2. The fiat inclined ramp portion constitutes approximately the forward half of the bottom wall 38. The bottom wall defines a horizontal, longitudinally extending V-shaped trough 43, whose aperture is designedly substantially smaller than the diameter of a full paper roll 26, and which is large enough to permit the trough to receive and frictionally retain and position a depleted, reduced diameter roll Zila, as shown in FIG- URE 2.

The elevated forward part of the inclined ramp portion 42 extends upwardly and forwardly through the wall opening 12 at the lower edge 36 thereof, and forwardly beyond the mounting flange 24. At a point slightly spaced forwardly of the mounting flange 24 the ramp portion 42 is cut away along its side edges so as to define a reduced width tongue 44 which terrniuates at its forward extremity in a horizontal longitudinal paper tearing edge 46. Thereby the tongue 44 is designedly made narrower than paper strip '48 drawn forwardly from the underside of the paperroll 20, as indicated in FIGURES 3 and 4. As seen in FIGURE 2, the tongue 46 has a slight forward and downward curvature, relative to the ramp portion 42, so that the forward part of the tongue is in a substantialy horizontal plane. Further, the ends of the tongue 44 are laterally outwardly and downwardly deflected and preferably curved, as indicated at 5%, so as to reach downwardly away from the underside of and be out of supporting relation to related side edge portions of paper strip 48 resting upon the tongue. The tearing edge 46 of the tongue is, as shown in FIGURE 3, slightly longitudinally and convexly bowed, at opposite sides of a midpoint 52, and is rounded at its ends, as indicated at 54. Because of these formations of the tongue 44, a paper strip 48, pulled from the roll 20, so that a perforated tear-line thereof (not shown) coincides with the tearing edge 46, the strip 48 is firmly supported on the tongue 44 along the centerline of the strip, in line with the midpoint 52 of the tearing edge, but its side portions are free to be flexed downwardly below the level of the centerline portion thereof, by and to the downwardly deflected side edge portions 50 of the tongue, with the side edges 56 of the strip 48 reaching beyond the side edges of the tongue, as shown in FIG- URES 3 and 4. At the same time, end portions of the strip 48 along the tear line thereof are unsupported by the tongue 44 at the tear edge 46 whilethe center portion at the tear line is supported by the midpoint 52. As a result, a quick, careless, and unpractical downward pull on the part of the strip 48 forwardly of its tear line, to one side or the other, causes the strip to tear accurately and cleanly along its tear line, beginning at the midpoint 52, and jagged tears are avoided.

Because of the projection of the tongue 44 forwardly beyond the front of the casing 16, and hence, forwardly beyond a full paper roll 20, a tearing operation leaves resting upon the tongue a sufficient length of strip 48 behind the tongues tear edge 46, and forwardly, of the roll 20, to provide a tab 57 which is large enough to provide a readily grasped hand-hold for pulling out and dispensing further strip. Grasping of the tab 57 is further facilitated by the extension of its side edges 56 beyond the side edges of the tongue, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The paper roll retaining and positioning means of the device is constituted by the ramp portion 42 and an intermediate portion 58 of the combined top and back wall 32. As seen in FIGURE 2, a full paper roll 20, inserted into the casing 16 merely by dropping it rearwardly therein through its open forward end, bears rotatably and frictionally against the portion 58 and the ramp portion 42. The rearward declination of the ramp portion 42 holds the roll 20 rearwardly against the portion 58 and at the same time provides an inclined plane which will not be climbed. by the roll 20 when paper strip 48 is pulled forwardly off the bottom of the roll and the roll is rotated rearwardly thereby in the trough 43.

Further, as strip 48 is pulled forwardly off the bottom of the roll 20, and the roll thereby rotated rearwardly in the trough 43, the roll is lifted slightly ofi the ramp portion 42, so that the strip 48 is relieved of the weight of the roll and can slide forwardly freely on the ramp portion 42 and the tongue 44s When the strip is not being pulled ,oif the roll 26, the weight of the roll and itsfrictional bearings against the portion 58 of the rear casing wall and upon the strip 48, and thereby, in effect,

the ramp portion 42, holds the roll securely in place.

While the strip is being pulled off the roll 20, substantially the same retaining effects are obtained by the bearings of the roll against the rear wall portion 58 and the forwardly and upwardly tensioned strip 48.

As the roll 28 is depleted and decreases in diameter so as to become a smaller diameter depleted roll 20a, shown in phantom linm in FIGURE 2, the roll is similarly retained in the trough 43 and bears at its forward and rear sides against progressively lower parts of the trough forming wall portions below those engaged by the full roll.

Although there has been shown and described herein a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily confined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of and 'in the relative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention between the upper and lower ends being greater than the initial diameter of said paper roll, said vertical wall merging at its lower end into a substantially flat upwardly and forwardly-extending ramp portion, the meeting of the ramp portion with the lower end of the vertical wall defining a transversely-extending trough which is narrower than the initial diameter of said paper roll, a lateral mounting flange means fixed to the side edges of the vertical wall and to the side edges of the ramp portion, said'ramp portion having a forward end portion extending forwardly beyond the mounting flange, and the upper end of the vertical wall and a tongue on and extending forwardly from said forward end portion, said tongue being narrower than said forward end portion and having a transverse forward tearing edge.

2. A holder and dispenser for a roll of paper comprising a vertical wall which is rearwardly and concavely curved between its upper and lower ends, the distance between the upper and lower ends being greater than the initial diameter of said paper roll, said vertical wall merging at its lower end into a substantially flat upwardly and forwardly-extending ramp portion, the meeting of the ramp portion with the lower end of the vertical wall defining a transversely-extending trough which is narrower than the initial diameter of said paper roll, a lateral mounting flange means fixed to the side edges of the vertical wall and to the side edges of the ramp portion, said ramp portion having a forward end portion extending forwardly beyond the mounting flange, and the upper end of the vertical wall and a tongue on and extending forwardly from said forward end portion, said tongue being narrower than said forward end portion, and having a transverse forward tearing edge, said tongue having down-turned ends.

3. A holder and dispenser for a roll of paper comprising a vertical wall which is rearwardly and concavely curved between its upper and lower ends, the distance between the upper and lower ends being greater than the initial diameter of said paper roll, said vertical wall merging at its lower end into a substantially flat upwardly and forwardly-extending ramp portion, the meeting of the ramp portion with the lower end of the vertical wall defining a transversely-extending trough which is narrower than the initial diameter of said paper roll, a lateral mounting flange means fixed to the side edges of the vertical wall and to the side edges of the ramp portion, said ramp portion having a forward end portion extending forwardly beyond the mounting flange, and the upper end of the vertical wall and a tongue on and extending forwardly from said forward end portion, said tongue be ing narrower than said forward end portion and having a transverse forward tearing edge, side walls secured to the side edges of the vertical wall and of its ramp portion, said mounting flange means comprising transverse horizontal upper and lower members fixed to the upper end of the vertical wall and the underside of the ramp portion, and vertical members fixed to the said side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Andersson Feb. 3, 1959 

